"So, you're birthday's coming up."

I look up from the book I'm reading to my three best friends. I push the glasses further up the bridge of my nose to stop it from slipping off my face and I cross her legs.

"Yeah, and?" I shrug. Cassie looks up from her phone and gives me an incredulous look, "yeah, and? Girl, you turning twenty-one, it happens only once."

My brows tug together at her rhetorical question, "more grey hairs?"

"No, " she deadpans, "that means no more fake ID's, more drinking and you're officially an adult now." She lists off her three fingers as she mentions them. However, it's the last part of her sentence that grabs my attention, "So I wasn't before?" Cassie rolls her eyes, "babe, you only turn twenty-one once, okay? It's basically a milestone."

She walks over to us seated in the living room and plops down next to me throwing her arm around my shoulders, "plus, it's another excuse to get belligerently drunk and not give a fuck."

I frown, "I'd much prefer celebrating my birthday with people who actually care about me and not just people who want free booze."

"I hate to admit but I agree. Remember what happened on my birthday?" Amaal cuts in and Cassie cringes.

The group goes silent as we all flashback to Amaal's birthday last year. Not only did someone get alcohol poisoning, but a girl also OD'd on pain meds and alcohol. "Right, right. We'll just make it us then." Cassie says, nodding her head.

"Guys," I put my book down on the coffee table, "I'm perfectly fine with us doing nothing, just a simple movie night with pizza and I'm good plus, I'm working on my birthday."

"You seriously can't be saying that you are going to be working on your twenty first birthday." Sasha asks shocked. "I'm just turning a year older, why is it a big deal? And I need the money." I simply shrug, not wanting to delve deeper into it, knowing my reasons.

...

Facetimes with Devontae while he's at an away game has become our tradition. Tonight, they flew off to Canada and the won't be back for the next three days. Sometimes on facetime, we don't need to say nothing at all because honestly comfortable silence is more peaceful than small talk.

I open the container for the serum and drop on my cheeks and rub it into my face gently. "So, I hear your birthday is coming up." I groan, closing my eyes, not him too. "I was hoping you wouldn't bring that up."

His eyes close slightly, puzzled, "What? C'mon, you don't turn twenty-one every day." When I don't say anything in response his face becomes serious, "woah wait, you're serious? You don't wanna do anything for your birthday?"

I'm busy rubbing castor oil on my eyelashes and I curse and blink multiple times as I accidently poked myself in the eye with my nail. I rub my watering eye with the back of my hand, "I'm deadass. And don't even think of getting me gifts either." I'm silent as I think, "okay, maybe a cake. No, make that an ice cream cake. I'm working that day too."

Devontae rolls his eyes, "Kiana, it's your 21st c'mon now." I begin putting on my face mask, "I'm perfectly fine with it just being a normal day."

I let out a sigh, as I spread the clay mask across my cheeks with my fingers, I glance at my phone and exhale through my nose when I see him staring back at me with the most serious expression, looking back at the mirror. He is still silent as I continue rubbing the mask evenly on my face, I close it the tub and throws it across the counter, I run my hand through my hair in frustration and finally says, "my dad wants to meet me."

Devontae sits up from his lying position and walks over to the desk in his hotel room, "when did he say that?" I tie her hair up in a bun before covering it in a bonnet, "yesterday. He called me to ask if the date was fine and I agreed, forgetting my birthday is a day after that."

He chuckles before he looks at me seriously. "We still on?"

"Yeah. I know for a fact that if I was going alone, I was gonna chicken out of it."

I check the time and my eyes grow large when I see its already two am meaning it's five am for Devontae, who's been up for the past two hours talking to me. "Oh my god, I didn't realise what the time was."

He simply barks out a laugh at my panic, "Relax, Coach gave us the day off." I open my mouth to say something but stops in shock, "Coach Jackson?" He shrugs, "I also couldn't believe it. The guys are under the impression that he may be dating someone." I blink, this is a surprise, "dating?"

"What other reason could it possibly be?" He asks me, leaning his chin on his palm.

He's right. I roll my lips into my mouth as I can't produce another possible reason. He snickers and waves before I hang up.

DEVONTAE'S POV

It's hard as hell to plan a surprise party for somebody who's doing a degree in something which she has to be able to read people's body language to tell if there's something going on. Kiana naturally feeds off people energy, I don't know whether it's the woman intuition or her major.

When the gang and I whisper the details for her birthday celebration whenever she leaves the room, about who's responsible for what and the gifts we're getting for her whenever she returns, it becomes increasingly quiet which I know is making her more suspicious. Another thing we have to take into account the fact that she's working till late.

I already know what I'm getting her and as much as I know it's what she always wanted, I hope she loves it and doesn't think I'm being to fucking corny or too extra. I just hope she loves it.